CAW members ratify new agreement at Integram in Windsor

The Canadian Auto Workers union has ratified a new two-year collective agreement with auto parts maker Integram that maintains current wages and drops the qualifying age for retirement benefits from 60 to 55.

The new agreement, ratified by 78.2 per cent, also includes annual lump sum payments, extends the lifetime cap on health benefits to $300,000, includes new job security language and establishes a new cost of living allowance (COLA) program.

According to the CAW, this agreement follows a series of “no-concession contract settlements” in the parts sector. Last week, CAW members ratified two new no-concession agreements at Martinrea parts facilities in Ontario.

Jerry Dias, assistant to CAW national president Ken Lewenza, said the recently launched Auto Parts Workers United campaign and province-wide day of action on October 27 have sent a “clear message” to employer's that concession bargaining is a non-starter.

“Parts workers are united in this fight and aren't backing down,” Dias said in a release today. “At Integram [a division of Magna], our members negotiated a strong contract with the biggest parts supplier in all of Canada. There's no good reason now why other parts employers should think concessions are at all negotiable.”